Automatic weapon, mounted in an armoured turret



W K. FAMMLER ET AL 3,3l ,189

AUTOMATIC WEAPON, MOUNTED IN AN ARMOURED TURRET Filed Jan. 27, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Invenfom 1 1 5: f'Z El 777 77726,

EU Ricki/ml Kowe May 9, W67 K. FAMMLER ET AL 3,318,189

AUTOMATIC WEAPON, MOUNTED IN AN ARMOURED TURRET Filed Jan. 27, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Invenfors Kak Z F2277? mZeP y 1167 K. FAMMLER ETAL wmm AUTOMATIC WEAPON, MOUNTED IN AN ARMOURED TURRET Filed Jan. 27, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet I3 invenfars KQF Z E a/771 777 26k A Z liys,

May 1967 K. FAMMLER ET AL BEMJLW AUTOMATIC WEAPON, MOUNTED IN AN ARMOURED TURRET Filed Jan. 27, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 lnvenfor Km 2 E2777 771 cf!" 5y ffl'ckikcz Ka he Arm May 9, 1967 K. FAMMLER ET AL 3,3EJ89 AUTOMATIC WEAPON, MOUNTED IN AN ARMOURED TURRET Filed Jan. 27, 1966 5 Sheets$heet s Fig. 6

lnvenfom kzwz 52777 771 Ze/- y Riclaml l fozlwe .AMa/ 9 W M 3,313,139 AUTOMATIC WEAPGN, MEOUNTED llN AN ARMQUREH) lKarl Fammler, Dusseldorf, and Richard Kaine, Dusseldorf-Neulichtenbroich, Germany, assignors to lFirma Rheinmetall G.n1.b.H., Dusseldorf, Germany Filed Jan. 27, 1966, Ser. No. 523,304 Claims priority, application Germany, Feb. 6, 1965, n sassn 9 Claims. (Cl. 89-33) The invention relates to an automatic weapon which is mounted in an armoured turret so that it can swivel in the vertical direction together with a shield, and to which ammunition is fed by means of a belt feeder detachably connected to the weapon.

In modern warfare, apart from such weapons requiring a large angle of elevation and a low firing height, it is also necessarythat the armoured turret should oder as small a target as possible and, moreover, that a rapid change from one type of ammunition to another be possible, i.e., instead of ammunition normally fed to the weapon by means of a belt feeder, it should be possible to use a special ammunition which is carried at the same time in flat magazines. To this end, the belt feeder must be removed from the weapon in the shortest possible time to enable an ammunition magazine to Belt feeders generally consist of a box-like casing in which the feed mechanism is arranged, the ammunition belted in a disintegrating belt being introduced on one side of the casing, while after a cartridge has been pushed out of the belt by the breech mechanism and has been introduced into the weapon, the individual belt links or members, which are separated from one another, are ejected on the other side. Belt feeders are held in the weapon at their front end face by means of a projection and at their rear end face by means of a lever-operated locking means and can be disengaged from the weapon after the locking means has been released.

As the above-mentioned requirements are apparently in conflict, making a weapon which meets all the requirements available is a real problem and the present invention is concerned with solving this problem.

In accordance with the invention, the belt feeder is adapted to pivot on a spindle arrangement in a plane parallel to the vertical longitudinal central plane of the weapon, the spindle being guided and held so that it is vertically movable in this plane. The arrangement of the pivot spindle in accordance with the invention in such manner that it is guided for vertical movement in a plane parallel to the vertical longitudinal central plane of the weapon enables the belt feeder to be swung out rapidly in a very small space, so that an ammunition magazine can be connected to the weapon without completely removing the belt feeder from the latter.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pivot spindle can be pushed into eyes provided on the belt feeder and is mounted so that it is vertically movable in guides provided on the weapon cradle or on the shield, and the construction may likewise very advantageously be such that the guide for the rear end of the pivot spindle is of greater length than the guide for the front end, so that when the belt feeder has been released from the weapon the spindle adopts a position which is inclined with respect to the axis of the weapon bore. In this way it is also possible to apply the invention in already existing weapons and accessories in a simple manner.

A further preferred feature is the facilitation of the swinging out of the belt feeder by a resilient supporting element supported on the shield at one end and articulated to the belt feeder at the other end. The weight of the belt feeder is balanced by the resilient supporting element, so

be connected to the weapon.

nited States Patent Ch Patented May 9, i967 ice that negligible physical force to swing the feeder out.

An example of embodiment of the invention is shown in simplified form in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the weapon mounted in an armoured turret together with a cylindrical shield,

FIG. 2 is a section of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows how the belt feeder is arranged and pivotally mounted,

FIG. 4 is a view in the direction IV in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a view in the direction V in FIG. 3 with the belt feeder swung out,

FEG. 6 shows a detail VI from FIG. 5, being a locking device for the pivot spindle, and

FIG. 7 is a cross-section of FIG. 6.

The drawings illustrate the rotatable turret 1 of an armoured vehicle, in which an automatic weapon 2 is mounted with its cradle 3 so that it can swivel in the vertical direction together with a cylindrical shield 4. A belt feeder 5, which is arranged below the weapon and has its feed mouthpiece 6 engaged in the weapon housing, serves to feed ammunition belted in disintegrating belts. Projections 7 and '8 which are provided at the front and rear end faces of the belt feeder serve to lock the belt feeder to the weapon 2, the front projection '7 engaging in a cor-responding recess 9 on the weapon, while the rear projection 8 is held by a locking latch 10 attached to the weapon. A handle 24 on the underside of the belt feeder is used for manipulating the belt feeder when it is swung in and out.

At the front and rear end faces of the belt feeder 5 are eyes 11 into which a rod 12 serving as the pivot spindle can be pushed, the rod projecting beyond the belt feeder at both ends. The ends of the pivot spindle engage in guide slots 13 and 14' which are arranged in a plane parallel to the vertical longitudinal central plane x of the weapon and form guides for the pivot spindle 12. (Instead of a through-going spindle 12, it is also possible to provide short bearing pins at the end faces of the belt feeder, the bearing pins being fixed in the eyes Ill and engaging in the guide slots 13 and 14.) The guide slots 13, 14 are formed in fiat-iron or sheet-metal pieces 13', 14' which are secured to the weapon cradle 3 in a suitable manner. The guide slot 14 for the rear end of the pivot spindle '12 is substantially longer than the front guide slot 13. The rear end of the insertable pivot spindle has a knob 19 and a claw 20 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). When the pivot spindle is pushed in through the guide slots 13, 14 and the holding eyes 11, the claw 26 is passed through a notch 21 provided in the rear guide 14' and is locked to the guide 14' by turning the knob through The claw now embraces the guide piece 14, so that the spindle is secured against being withdrawn.

A resilient supporting element 15 is provided at the front end face of the belt feeder. This supporting element is supported on the shield 4 by a hinged joint 16 and has a supporting fork 17 embracing a bearing pin 18 on the front end face of the belt feeder. The supporting element 15' serves as a counterbalance to facilitate swinging in and out of the belt feeder.

Swinging out of the belt feeder 5 is effected in the following manner. By raising the locking lever 16, the locking of the belt feeder to the weapon is released, the feeder tilting in the plane of FIG. 3 of the drawings about the projection '7. During this movement, the weight of the belt feeder is almost completely balanced by the resilient supporting element 15, the spring characteristics of which is matched to the weight of the belt feeder. At the end of the tilting movement, the projection 7 slips out of the recess 9, so that the pivot spindle adopts the position 12 indicated in FIG. 3 by a chain-dotted line. The mouthhas to be exerted in order piece 6 is now fully out of engagement with the weapon and the belt feeder can be swung out into the position illustrated in FIG. with negligible exertion of force. A fiat magazine 22 containing a special ammunition can now be connected to the weapon in place of the belt feeder. These operations can be carried out so simply and rapidly that only a few seconds are required for a change of ammunition.

The swinging in, i.e., coupling, of the belt feeder with the weapon is moreover facilitated by two guide rollers 23, which are arranged in the guide pieces 13 and 14. Precise axial and trouble-free introduction of the mouthpiece 6 of the belt feeder into the weapon is thereby made possible.

We claim:

1. An automatic weapon having a shield and mounted in an armoured turret so that it can swivel in a vertical direction, said weapon having a vertical longitudinal central plane, belt feeder means detachably connected to said weapon for feeding ammunition thereto, spindle means disposed in a plane parallel to said central plane of the weapon, means mounting said belt feeder means on said spindle for pivotal movement thereon, and means guidedly supporting said spindle for movement thereof in said parallel plane.

2. An automatic weapon as claimed in claim 1, wherein said belt feeder means includes eyes for receiving said spindle, and wherein the weapon cradle or said shield has guide means, said support means mounting said spindle means in said guide means for movement in said parallel plane.

3. An automatic weapon as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weapon cradle or said shield includes vertical elongated guide means, said support means mounting respective front and rear ends of said spindle means in said guide means for movement in said parallel plane, said guide means in which the rear end of said spindle means is mounted being longer than said guide means in which the front end of said spindle means is mounted whereby on release of said detachable connection between said belt feeder means and said weapon, said spindle means adopts a position inclined to the axis of the bore of said weapon.

4. An automatic weapon as claimed in claim 1, and including resilient means, and means hingedly supporting said resilient means on said shield and articulating said resilient means to said belt feeder.

5. An automatic weapon as claimed in claim 4, wherein said resilient means is an elongated spring element, said hingedly supporting means and said articulating means being disposed at opposite ends of said spring element.

6. An automatic weapon as claimed in claim 5, Wherein said spring element has a spring characteristic matched to the weight of said belt feeder means whereby the weight of said belt feeder means is substantially balanced.

7. An automatic weapon as claimed in claim 1, wherein said spindle means comprises bearing pins disposed at respective front and rear ends of said belt feeder means, vertically disposed guides in said shield or in the weapon cradle, and means mounting said pins for movement along said guides.

8. A shielded automatic weapon carried by a cradle mounted in an armoured turret to permit swivelling of said weapon in a vertical direction, said weapon having a vertical longitudinal central plane, vertical elongated guide means in said weapon cradle or said shield and extending in a plane parallel to said vertical central plane, means mounting a spindle in said guide means and supporting said spindle for movement in said guide means in said parallel plane, ammunition belt feeder means operale to feed ammunition to said weapon, means detachably connecting said belt feeder means to said weapon, means mounting said belt feeder means on said spindle for pivotal movement thereon, an elongated resilient supporting element, means hingedly connecting one end of said element to said shield and means articulating the other end of said element to said belt feeder means.

9. An automatic weapon as claimed in claim 8, wherein said resilient element has a resilient characteristic effective substantially to counterbalance the weight of said belt feeder means.

317,161 12/1919 Germany. 206,086 11/1923 Great Britain.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. S. C. BENTLEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN AUTOMATIC WEAPON HAVING A SHIELD AND MOUNTED IN AN ARMOURED TURRET SO THAT IT CAN SWIVEL IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION, SAID WEAPON HAVING A VERTICAL LONGITUDINAL CENTRAL PLANE, BELT FEEDER MEANS DETACHABLY CONNECTED TO SAID WEAPON FOR FEEDING AMMUNITION THERETO, SPINDLE MEANS DISPOSED IN A PLANE PARALLEL TO SAID CENTRAL PLANE OF THE WEAPON, MEANS MOUNTING SAID BELT FEEDER MEANS 